Comprehension Processes

Before this week, I had not really considered all the processes and strategies that go into comprehending a text. I can read and I can read for understanding, but until doing these readings and talking in class about comprehension processes, I didn't realize how many processes and strategies I use when I read. I think I just assumed that the more people read, the more they pick up and develop their own strategies and processes for comprehension, such as using schema, predicting what will come next, analyzing characters, and questioning the author. I now realize how complex these strategies are, and surely along the way I received instruction on how to read using strategies like these, but it has become so natural and internalized for me that I didn't stop to think about it before. This new awareness forces me as a teacher to make sure that I am providing instruction and modeling in not only decoding, but in comprehension. These are things that can be taught, modeled, and practiced during read alouds (thinking aloud and modeling as Miller demonstrates for us in Chapter 5: Schema), guided reading, and even centers.

Additionally, I had never thought about different types, or profiles, of comprehension as Applegate, Quinn, and Applegate discuss in "Profiles in Comprehension." As we have been discussing all throughout this course, knowing our students is crucial to understanding who they are, why they do what they do, and how they learn. Learning about students' comprehension profiles allows us another peek into the minds of our students -- how they understand and make sense of what they read. It is essential that we figure out how our students comprehend text, but it cannot end there. We must then use this information to differentiate instruction to meet the vast needs of our students. Applegate, Quinn, and Applegate sum it up well by saying, "Our ultimate objective in considering profiles is to identify the student's view of reading, or what that student thinks reading is supposed to be, and then to provide instruction that helps them to adjust that view when necessary," (Applegate, p. 50). I think the key words here are "helps them to adjust that view when necessary." Some students may have a "right" view of reading, but others may come into our classrooms missing what reading is all about. It is not just decoding words because the teacher says to, it is about decoding words while constructing meaning, interacting with the text, making connections, and appreciating an art form. Helping students to understand that reading is a rich and rewarding experience will set them on a path for future success in comprehension and literacy as a whole.

In the field, I do see some of these processes at work. After reading groups, Mrs. Tillman (or whoever is facilitating the group) has the students summarize what they read to see if they understand. During read alouds, Mrs. Tillman asks guiding questions, points out text features and illustrations that enrich the reading experience, and asks for predictions about what will happen next. I do wish that the comprehension instruction I see was slightly more focused on the why in addition to the how. Mrs. Tillman gives the students good and practical strategies for students to use as they read and make sense of a text, but they are missing the why factor, the point of reading. I think if students understood the beauty of written language, the truth that it is an art and a craft, something that can be built up in our imaginations and broken down to find meaning, then the students in my class would become more engaged and thoughtful readers. Then they may be more interested in reading for reading's sake, rather than reading because they have to in order to get by in school.